ASSEMBLY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 191

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 11, 2014

      The Assembly State and Local Government Committee reports favorably Assembly Resolution No. 191.

      This resolution expresses the General Assembly’s opposition to the Pilgrim Pipeline project and urges the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, and any other federal, state, or local entity engaged in review of the Pilgrim Pipeline project to reject the project.  The resolution also calls on the Army Corps of Engineers to prepare an environmental assessment for the project under the National Environmental Policy Act and the NJDEP to thoroughly review the project’s impacts.

      The Pilgrim Pipeline project would construct two new parallel oil pipelines in the State, linking Albany, New York, and Linden, New Jersey.  The pipeline would transport Bakken shale oil produced by fracking in North Dakota.  This oil is highly explosive and pipeline transportation would threaten local communities with the risk of spills and other accidents.  The pipeline would pass through densely populated communities and environmentally sensitive areas that supply drinking water to the State’s residents.